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Sunday, February 01, 2015

It's been entirely too long since I've posted a concert review, nearly two years for those of you keeping track at home. In an effort to start 2015 on the right foot, below is my review of Knife Party's concert at Mezzanine in San Francisco this week.

First off, it's not every week that an electronic duo who headlines festivals decides to play at a club a few blocks away from your apartment. The phrase "no-brainer" purchase comes to mind when I think about how long it took for me to consider buying tickets. Having never been to Mezzanine before for a show, I was doubly intrigued because I had heard a lot of good things about the club.

When I entered the club, my first reaction centered around how small it was and how nice the sound quality was. Sam F was the opening act and he did his job in getting the growing crowd hype and ready for the main act. I thought there was a really solid turn out for the opening set, which speaks to the palpable excitement that was building as time passed. The biggest thing I appreciated during the concert was the quick shift between the opening act and the headliner. You could equate it to changing drivers on the highway without stopping, which was a nice surprise.

When 11 PM hit, the mood went from anticipation to completely turnt up. Off top, the duo of Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen sucked us all in with the Abandon Ship intro Reconnect, which bled into one of their most recent singles, Resistance. In hindsight, the first hour of their set was focused on cuts off their new album and recent remixes. The second hour of their set is what made the price of admission well worth it for me. Over the sixty minutes they weaved in an out of favorites like Internet Friends, Centipede, Begin Again, and their Save the World Tonight remix. It was a blur, but an awesome one at that.

As the set was gradually reaching an energy apex, I started silently hoping they would find a way to incorporate my favorite cut off Abandon Ship in their encore. It's as if they heard me because sure enough, they queued up the reggae flavored track, Give It Up as I went nuts. The concert didn't need icing, but I got it anyways and it perfectly capped off an enjoyable night where I danced myself clean in under the cozy roof of Mezzanine...#AbandonShip